Incoming Mails

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23005, 7 October 1936, Page 8

Incoming Mails

The postal authorities advise that the Eclipse left Sydney on Monday for Wellington with nine bags of Australian mail for Dunedin and the London air mail of September 21. The air portion should be to hand on Saturday or Sunday afternoon and the balance of the mail on Monday morning.

City Police Court Only one case came before the magistrate (Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.) in the City Police Court yesterday morning. A first offender charged with drunkenness was fined 20s, in default 48 hours' imprisonment.

Gold Dredge Launching At one stage during yesterday it was hoped that an endeavour could be made to launch the Molyneux River Gold Dredging Company's dredge at Clyde at about 6 p.m., but preparations were not completed in time and the attempt has been deferred until 9 o'clock this morning.

Fire Brigade Calls The South Dunedin Fire Brigade answered an automatic false alarm at 8.27 yesterday morning to the Hillside Workshops. At 6.21 p.m. the City Fire Brigade attended a chimney nre at 602 Cumberland street. A justifiable false alarm was 'received from Cargill road at 6.45 p.m., and at 8.17 a malicious false alarm was received from Stone street, Mornington.

Magistrate's Court At a brief sitting of the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., judgment was given for the plaintiffs in the following undefended cases:—F. and R. Woods,- Ltd. (in liquidation) v. Beatrice Dyhrberg, costs only (12s), for goods supplied; John Mill and Co., Ltd. v. J. Trainor, costs only (14s), for goods supplied; Butterflelds, Ltd., v. William Campbell Smith, claim £1 4s 6d, for goods supplied, with costs (8s); R. Wilson and Co., Ltd. v. B. Donnelly (Ashburton), claim £6 Is sd, for goods supplied, with costs (£1 10s 6d); Butterflelds, Ltd., v. William Larson and M. Larson, claim £1 18s 6d, for goods supplied, with costs (13s); Sharpdyne Radio Company v. Sadie Knox, claim £5, for hire rent on radio, with costs (£1 3s 6d). Christmas Annual

That the special illustrated annuals issued by various newspaper companies in New Zealand play an appreciable part in advertising the attractions of the Dominion is emphasised by a letter received from Plymouth, lowa, United States of America. Enclosing an order for a copy of the Otago Daily Times and Witness Christmas Annual, 1936, the writer says:—"You are surely putting out a wonderful magazine, and it receives the highest of compliments from everyone who sees it. New Zealand must be a paradise island, as one could not help to infer when looking at the beautiful scenery shown in this magazine."

Sunshine at Tekapo. Meteorological readings taken at Lake Tekapo during the month of September show that the sun shone daily throughout the month, a total of 210.3 hours being registered—an average of 6.8 hours per day. The total number of hours of sunshine for the year to date is 1721.4, a daily average of 6.2. The rainfall for the month amounted to 2.29 inches, rain being registered on eight days. The total rainfall for the year is 18.87 inches.

A Timely Gift The generous giving and disinterested service of the late Mr .and Mrs J. A. Johnstone in the cause of Plunket work were vividly recalled at the last meeting of the Dunedin branch, when a cheque for £SOO was received from their daughters, Misses Ethel and Winifred Johnstone. Needless to say this donation was received with grateful appreciation by the committee. It is the first voluntary amount .to be placed to the credit of the building fund of the new Truby King Harris Hospital, a necessity, for the erection of which it is hoped the money may be found in some two or three years' time, and in which one ward will be called "The Margaret Johnstone in affectionate remembrance of Mrs Johnstone's long service as president of the Dunedin branch committee, a member of the Dominion Council, and president of the New Zealand Society. By giving thus early the donors have generously allowed the fund the benefit of the accruing interest.

" Little Short of Blackmail " Strong exception to an appeal for funds by the South Island Travel Association was taken by Cr D. M'Gregor at the monthly meeting of the Bruce County Council yesterday. The association submitted a schedule of charges based both on the capital value and the unimproved value of land, which showed that at the rate of 2d per £IOOO on the capital value the council could, if it desired, contribute the sum of £ls annually. "I think it is a piece of effrontery for people to compile a thing like this," said Cr M'Gregor. "I do not want ta belittle the work of these associations, but what good they are going to do is problematical, and I consider this request is little short of blackmail. It is about time legislation* was passed making it illegal for local bodies to distribute their funds for any other purpose than the one for which they are collected." Other councillors were in agreement with Cr M'Gregor's remarks, and the letter was merely received.

The Guaranteed Price " It is true that prior to the election I stated at practically all of my meetings that the guaranteed price would work out at Is 2d or Is 3d to the farmer," said Mr J. G. Barclay, M.P. for Marsden, in a public address at Maungatapere. "I was working it out year by year, while the Minister of Finance, Mr W. Nash, has worked it on a weighted average and then added something extra on, making it much better than the- eight or 10-year average. Mr H. O. Mellsop, provincial president of the Farmers' Union, told me the other day that Mr Nash was quite right in working it out on a weighted average. I cannot for the life of me see where the farmers are disappointed with the guaranteed price. If we had paid Is 3d or Is 4d, then we would have created such an orgy of i land speculation that would have caused ruination."

Drinking at Dances A suggestion that the practice of drinking at dances could be overcome by the formation of an association of masters of ceremony, with authority to control the conduct of patrons, is made by the Rev. J. D. W. Raine, of Douglas, Taranaki, in an article in the current issue of the Waikato Diocesan Magazine. "We know that most of the liquor at dances is located in cars outside the halls," writes Mr Raine, "but it is clear that once there is proper control within the hall no one would sit in a car all night, even though there was plenty of 'free beer' to drown the sorrow of non-admission to the hall. The Master of Ceremony Association would need to impose restrictions on hall committees to prevent them from supplying liquor for public functions, either for friends or for sale." Mr Raine also suggests that competent women should be appointed to take charge of the ladies* cloakrooms to check the consumption of liquor by women patrons of the dances. The custodians of the cloakrooms should also be members of the Master of Ceremony Association. As referees a"t football matches are chosen and endowed with specific authority, so masters of ceremony could be chosen and appointed, ,he adds. The scheme would eliminate the scandals inside and outside the dance halls during the progress of any social function.

Women's Cycle Record An application on behalf of Miss Violet E. Beard, of Auckland, for recognition of her two-day cycle ride from Auckland to Wellington as a New Zealand women's record was before the New Zealand Cycling Federation at its meeting in Christchurch on Monday night. Miss Beard was paced by another cyclist and by a motor cyclist. She left Auckland at 6.15 a.m. on January 6 and arrived at Wellington at 8.45 a.m. on January 8. Ths application was supported by the Auckland Amateur Cycling Centre and the New Zealand Amateur Cycling As« sociation. The federation decided to ap« prove it on the assurance of the ama* teur body that the conditions under which the record were established werfl in order.

Facilities on Liner Queen Mary " This was primed on the liner Queen Alary," said Mr Brendan Dowling, of Sydney, a through passenger by the Mariposa when proffering his card to an Auckland reporter on Friday. Mr Dowling added that every facility imaginable was available on the liner. He had run out of cards when crossing to New York on the Queen Mary's record-breaking voyage, but was able to obtain a supply within three hours. They were printed at the branch shop of a London firm on board the vessel.

Californian Medical Standards "Although scholastic institutions are perhaps more wonderfully endowed by private benefactors in California than anywhere else, I think the standards of surgery attained after training at Australian and New Zealand universities are equal to anything I saw," said Dr T. F. Ryan, of Melbourne, who passed through Auckland by the Mariposa. Dr Ryan attended the PanPacific Medical Congress at Honolulu, and later visited California. He thought the hospitals in this part of the world were as well equipped as those he saw in America.

The Cow as a Compass Plow three surveyors, becoming lost in the dense bush surrounding Palmerston North when returning from a shooting expedition in the Oroua district, found their way out again was related by Mr R. S. Abraham to the Palmerston North Rotary Club. He stated that they were without compasses, but were accompanied by a Maori boy and a milch cow, which did duty both as a " pack-horse " and milk supply. Their plight, after they had been wandering for several days, was becoming serious when the Maori boy had an idea. He took the halter off the cow and hustled the animal to the front. With its animal instinct, the cow headed straight for home, and the party were back in half an hour at their camp, which was situated on what was then the edge of the bush where the Palmerston North Boys* High School now stands.

Handicapping by Weight "Where's the cruelty," asked Mr H. D. Acland (president of the Christchurch Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), when the executive of the society was discussing a letter from Mrs P. B. Haggitt ("The Deanery," Nelson), opposing the handicapping of horses by weight in hurdle races. Mrs Haggitt advocated the "more humane method of handicapping by distance as in trotting events." Members expressed the view that the matter was not" within the society's province, and that the racing, organisations would in any case be unlikely to take any notice of a protest. Mr Acland referred humorously to having seen a picture of a former Minister of Agriculture on a horse. "I felt sorry for. the horse," he added. "He' must have weighed at least 20 stone." It was decided to write to Mrs Haggitt, saying that the society was ready to receive a deputation to place her proposal before it

New Zealander's Invention In these days of ingenious laboursaving devices, one is constantly being surprised by some new manifestation of man's ingenuity. The latest is the invention of a New Zealander, which (says the Dominion) was being demonstrated in Wellington on Monday. It was a mechanical weighing machine, which automatically weighed out into bags or cartons any desired quantity of tea, sugar, rice, or other grocery It could perform this simple operation with mechanical exactitude at just 10 times the rate it could be done by manual endeavour. The machine was, of course designed for i factory use.

Early Maori Religion ~ >" That in the- Maori religion of the olden days, to the ordinary people there was no " thrill" of personal emotion, was stated by Dr W. S. Dale in a ldcture before the anthropology section of the Auckland Institute There was nothing equivalent to the emotion felt by individual worshippers taking part in a church service, such as Europeans use The old Maori religion was linked with bther group forms of social organisation more especially with the group, relating to rank, prestige, high birth—whence "mana" or power The outer aspect of theii religion was highly formalised, an-1 admittance to the inner aspect was qualified by birth, which thus left the spiritual core of the Maori religio-philosophy in the possession of the ariki (first-born of a first-born--the highest rank of a tribe) ' and of the highest grade of priests or tohungas. When rank brought great responsibility and a sense of duty to others, this tended to ensure a tribe's well-being

The "Rhesus" of Euripides in Gilbert Murray's translation will be read before the Classical Association in the Museum lecture-room to-morrow evening at 8. The cast is: Mrs F. J. Gair, Miss Anita Winkel, Mr James Fleming, Mr H. W. Hunter. Mr F. J. Gair and Mr Douglas Dall. For 40 years Williamsons have been making good rings. Beautiful finish and expert craftsmanship is the reason for their popularity. Opposite The Savoy.—Advt. Eye Strain.—For Eye Comfort, or better vision, consult Sturmer and Watson, Ltd., Opticians. 2 Octagon Dunedin.—Advt

A. E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagley, dentists, Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 12-359-Advt.

Those who are requiring an Engagement Ring will do well to inspect our stock. Peter Dick, Jewellers and Opticians, 488 Moray place. Dunedin.— Advt.